Biden launches Climate Corps to train thousands of young people
Facts
- On Wednesday, the Biden Admin. unveiled the creation of the American Climate Corps — an initiative aimed at environmental projects set to involve 20K young adults in its first year.
- The program will involve building trails, planting trees, installing solar panels, as well as other work aimed at conservation to prevent natural disasters like wildfires. The Climate Corps will initially pair with at least 10 states and six federal agencies.
- Following opposition by Republicans last year, President Biden is set to use an executive order in order to initiate the program, which is modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps implemented under President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s as part of the New Deal.
- The White House stated that the Climate Corps is intended to allow young adults "access to the skills-based training necessary for good-paying careers" in the environment-based economy.
- Biden had signed an executive order days into his presidency asking for agencies to submit strategies for a "Civilian Climate Corps" initiative. The original proposal found within the Build Back Better Act Framework had estimated over 300K potential members of the corps.
- Over 50 Democrats had shared a letter to President Biden on Monday, claiming that the "climate crisis" required a response "at an unprecedented scale." Within the letters, heatwaves in the Southwest as well as natural disasters in New England and Hawaii were cited as recent examples of climate-recent disasters.
Spin
Democratic narrative
With the environment a key concern for young Americans, establishing a Climate Corps is an audible policy choice for the Biden admin. with one eye towards the 2024 election. After being previously criticized by climate activists for the approval of fossil fuel projects alongside a lack of environmental success in Congress, Pres. Biden has taken matters into his own hands through his executive order.
Republican narrative
So far, it's unclear how much this program will cost the American taxpayer, or who will lead this endeavor of government expansion. The Climate Corps has been met with skepticism by those who would wish executive action instead on key issues such as the border crisis and gas prices rather than the resurrection of a near-century-old socialistic policy aimed at reducing unemployment during an economic crisis.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that the atmospheric CO2 concentration will be at least 435.5 PPM in 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
